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When Ben Fisher and I started XBLA Fans we had no idea the idea would take off like it has. We’d begun planning the idea the fall of 2009 …
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After spending the last four years releasing a multitude of sequels and spin-offs for its popular Rock Band and Dance Central franchises, Cambridge-based Harmonix Music Systems is scaling things back a bit with its next release. The next Harmonix-developed title the world will get is still part of the Rock Band series, but it will arrive at some point this summer sans the band. On Tuesday the developer unveiled Rock Band Blitz — a single-player XBLA and PSN game that rocks out without rock instruments, instead requiring the use of a regular controller for solo-jamming along all five instrumental tracks at once.

The simplicity of the concept isn’t exactly in line with what fans have come to expect from the company that popularized plastic instruments, so it’s understandable if there is some hesitation from the community to accept this new direction. Project Director Matthew Nordhaus explanation during my trip to the developer’s studio that the team’s goal is to release a product that removes the series’ high barriers of entry through a more simplistic approach probably won’t have plastic rock stars pumped for the big show either. Read a few quick-and-dirty details on the internet and watch a quick clip of Blitz‘ gameplay and you might get the impression that this is just another case of a developer dumbing its game down for modern gamers who are, supposedly, unable to process complexity in their video games. Well, guess what? It’s not.

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Anomaly Warzone Earth was developed by 11 Bit Studios and retails for 800 MSP. It was released on April 6, 2012. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Anomaly Warzone Earth takes the tower defense genre and turns it on its ear. Instead of placing towers and picking off enemies you are thrust into the difficult scenario of finding a way to run the gauntlet. In the not so distant future aliens crash to earth and tough times ensue. A small convoy of soldiers must infiltrate and investigate the destruction. Anomaly Warzone Earth is an updated version of the iOS title that delivers new features to make it worthy of a XBLA release.

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From February to August of last year we ran a weekly segment called Trials HD Tuesday. We showcased one user-created track each Tuesday along with information on how to …
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Sonic 4 Episode 2 launches on Xbox Live Arcade May 16. GameSpot broke the news yesterday. The trailer, which looks all things Sonic, also provides details on a mini campaign featuring Metal …
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The following comes from a contributor who wishes to be simply known as Fatshady. Big thanks to Fatshady and the rest of the Trials HD community for all their hard work!

Every time I meet someone who has played or even heard of Trials HD, I mention the “Trials HD Riddle”. The entire story about it I find totally fascinating, largely due tot he fact that the riddle has remained so well hidden. If you have ever played Trials HD, ask yourself this: Did you know that there were 18 unique Easter Eggs hidden within the tracks? Did you know these all connect to form a riddle that has remained unsolved for over two years? You didn’t? Well read on my friend, you are in for an eye-opening experience.

When I reflect on just about any other game that has a large player base and numerous Easter Eggs, there are countless wiki’s, YouTube videos and walkthroughs on most websites. Trials HD was played by over two million people yet the smallest percentage of them even know that there are secrets hidden amongst the tracks. What is even more astounding is that an even smaller percentage know that all of these combine to form one of the most elusive riddles found within a video game. With the upcoming sequel, Trials Evolution due to be released on April 18, I thought it was appropriate to share this riddle story one final time to ensure that one of the most fascinating aspects of 2009’s ‘Best Overall Game’ is not forgotten about.

Most people simply don’t believe that these clues have remained hidden for so long. I find that it is much easier to show them all so here is a recap of what we have found to date. To bring you up to date with the investigations, let me now go through these one by one and explain what we believe they are. This is a summary of the nearly 50 pages over at the official RedLynx forums regarding the riddle. Read it here

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Gamers in the EU region are being treated to a special Easter Sale just now. Some top XBLA games are featured and see a whopping 50% off the RPR:

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Some brand new screenshots of the upcoming DLC pack for A World of Keflings have recently surfaced. The candy based theme for the new pack, named Candy for Keflings, was chosen by fans in a fiercely competitive poll on the PlayXBLA blog, with the other choices being Pirates for Keflings and A Graveyard for Keflings. Staff here at XBLA Fans heavily campaigned for the candy themed pack to be picked so we were pretty chuffed when it won out in the end.

No word yet when NinjaBee will be releasing the pack but you can check out these “sweet” new screens after the jump.

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EA is set to terminate online functionality for Hasbro Family Game Night later this month. Game Night joins a cluster of retail titles that will also have their online features disabled April …
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Deadlight‘s gameplay is a combination of 2D platforming with some action elements and survival horror elements. But in this new trailer, we see all the environments a post-apocalyptic 1986 …
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